In the Dust of the Old World: A Detour
by aboywhowantedtobegod
Summary: A sequel to "In the Dust of the Old World". A few months after the events of the first story, the trading convoy end up passing through the commonwealth and stumbling across the new found town of Sanctuary Hills, where the Mayor offers them a deal. Rated M for sexual themes and violence. Cover Image not mine, credit goes to eslocosoldado-deviantart-com-art-RWBY-Fallout-Wallpapper
1. Chapter 1

"Oh man…Yang…are we there yet?" Ruby panted heavily, her throat raspy and parched from lack of water, using one arm to grip the strap of her bag and the other to prop herself against Zwei's side for support.

"If that woman, Trashcan Carla, was it? If she is correct, then it should less than half a kilometre to the north," Weiss said, pointing out the direction with her finger as the convoy slowly wandered out of the burnt out town of Concorde. She too was getting pretty tired, but unlike her lover, she kept it well hidden.

"It better be worth it, otherwise I'll fucking trash her can," grumbled Yang. Out of the four members of the convoy, Yang was the most annoyed from the miles of trekking through wasteland and a lack of sleep. There was a rumour that a new large settlement appeared on the northern border of the commonwealth. Yang decided that since they were only a few days away, that they should check it out to expand their already existing trading routes. However, she was really beginning to regret her decision. The pilgrimage was hitting the group hard. Their supplies were beginning to dwindle to the point of needing to be rationed and raiders had wounded their pack Brahmin, forcing them to carry the majority of their goods.

"That doesn't even make sense," said Weiss, squinting her eyes slightly at Yang's statement as she adjusted her heavy load. Yang was about to retort, when the group noticed something. As they walked further up the road, a red rocket truck stop came into view. Most of it was walled of with scrap metal, rubber tires and all over manner of junk. The only way in was protected by machine gun turrets and a single man, dressed in metal armour and armed with a hunting rifle. The turrets continued to whir loudly and make their sweep, as if they didn't notice the newcomers. The guard didn't appear hostile upon noticing the newcomers either, but when at first he seemed at ease, he suddenly focused all their attention upon Yang's convoy. Even when he saw the large Yao Guai, he didn't fire upon the group. While Weiss found this display a bit threatening and started to feel slightly nervous, the rest of the group felt a little more at ease. After all, if the guard was going to shoot, he and the turrets would have done so already. And on the odd chance that he did fire, Blake was camouflaged in the nearby trees, ready to counterattack.

"Howdy!" Yang half shouted to the guard, holding her hand up high and waving to him. Ruby returned the gesture, smiling happily.

"Afternoon, ladies," the guard answered, tilting his helmet in a way of greeting, slightly lowering his guard.

"Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn't happen to know where Sanctuary Hills is?" Weiss asked the guard as she neared the gate to the settlement.

"First time in the commonwealth, huh? No problem, you aren't far. Just keep heading down the road. Just don't cause any trouble."

"Much appreciated! Do you have anything to trade here?" Yang asked.

"A few bits and bobs, but you're honestly better off heading to Sanctuary Hills. Not much but food and water here,"

"In that case, do you mind if we come in for a bit of trading? We could do with some supplies" Yang asked politely, her request reinforced by a very audible growl from Ruby's stomach. The guard let out a hearty laugh, and shook his head.

"You get your friend out from behind that car, and maybe I will. DO YOU HEAR THAT, MISS? I SEE YOU." The guard shouted to the wreck of a chrysler highwayman, to which Blake popped up, with her rifle holstered and her hands up.

"Sorry, she's our safety policy," Weiss explained to him.

"It's no bother, I understand. Anyway, I'm opening up the gate, stay here,"

 **oo0oo**

"Oh man…that radstag stew hit the spot…" Ruby moaned happily, patting her belly for effect. She still propped herself against Zwei, but it was more from the fact she was stuffed this time round.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the meal. You all have a safe trip now, not that you have much farther to go. And thanks for the bullets!" The guard said his farewells and Yang gave a final wave to the guard, who nodded a final time towards her. Though they kept on walking away, the guard never took his eyes off the group.

"What's his problem?" Weiss grumbled, looking back at the guard, who was now but a small figure.

"I keep on forgetting you haven't lived out here as much as us. Well, Weiss, some folks prefer to stay in settlements or build up their own homes. A place of security, where you can grow your own food and drink your own water. That's enough to grab anyone's attention out in the wasteland." Yang explained.

"Hmmm, I suppose so, but that doesn't give him the right to just point his weapon at anyone he likes." Weiss complained.

"Distrust of others is a good way to keep yourself alive out here," Yang concluded.

"Sure, most of the time, but not always," Ruby pointed out, still leaning against Zwei's muscled shoulder. "I mean, we made friends with Weiss!"

"That was different, Ruby," Yang said, ending the debate. She turned her head slightly to the right, to find Blake walking calmly next to her. She jumped up slightly, giving a high pitched yelp of surprise, replaced with an angry tone. "GAH, FUCK! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Maybe you should pay more attention then," replied Blake in a monotone voice. "Besides, I thought I should join you guys. We're almost there. The guard wasn't wrong at all,"

"How far?" Ruby asked, suddenly excited.

"Just up the road a bit and across the river," Blake pointed to her right. True to her word, across a wide river, stood a whole collection of buildings tightly packed together.

"Well!" Yang announced, adjusting her bag pack with new found vigour, a slight spring in her step. "That's the best news I heard all day! Let's go!"

 **oo0oo**

The group grew quickly attached to the town. Despite its size, it was well populated, and the people were polite and welcoming to the newcomers, stopping them to chat about their travels. They found the traders in a giant wooden shack. The majority of the other traders gave them very good deals and the convoy had made a huge profit, while the traders had made plenty of new stock. It looked like the trip was well worth it.

Until the convoy met Friendly Jack, the weapons dealer.

"Are you kidding me?! This is a silenced anti-material rifle, with explosive rounds! I took down a fucking alpha deathclaw with this bitch! AND YOU WANT TO GIVE ME ONLY FIVE FUCKING HUNDRED CAPS FOR IT!?" Yang shouted at the weapons merchant, who was undeterred by her sudden rage.

"IT EVEN IS IN BRAND NEW CONDITION!" Weiss screamed at him.

"FIVE CLIPS FULL OF EXPLOSIVE ROUNDS AS WELL! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU ONLY GIVE US THAT MUCH?!" Ruby argued. Zwei growled alongside her, backing up his master.

"IT'S AT LEAST WORTH TWO GRAND!" Even the usually calm Blake was getting fairly annoyed.

"Ladies, I ain't in the mood for bartering with you. 500 caps is my final offer," he said in a bland voice. Yang took a deep sigh and seemed to accept surrender.

"Ok, fine, I am only giving you the bullets-"

"Eighty caps then."

"Ok, ok, but on one condition. You pick up a box, lay out the bullets like this…" Yang picked up a full box and rolled the round gently onto the table, picking up each one individually and lining them. "…set them up in a row, like this, ok? And once they are all set up in a nice row, I want you to each one up," Yang picked up a single round from the end of the row. "And shove it up your-"

"WOW! Been a while, since we had visitors! I heard gossip around town, but I wanted to see it for myself!" A dark-skinned man, clad in a cream coloured overcoat and a dark coloured hat, with a laser rifle the girls had never seen before slung over his shoulder. He came up to the girls and eagerly shook each of their hands, even stopping to pat Zwei on the nose, to which the bear growled contentedly.

"Name's Preston McGarvey, and you ladies are…?"

"I'm Ruby!" The small redhead piped up happily.

"Weiss Schnee," The heiress did a small bow, greeting Preston politely as she was always taught to do.

"Blake," Answered the ebony haired girl simply.

"COULD YOU TELL YOUR BOY HERE TO GIVE US A FAIR DEAL?!...I mean, I'm Yang," replied the still fuming convoy leader.

"Alright, let's see what we got here…" Preston politely moved in between the convoy and started inspecting the goods. "hmmm…anti material rifle, haven't seen one of these in a while…carbon fibre frame and rod, suppressor, mint condition…forty explosive rounds…how much did you offer these ladies, Jack?"

"500 caps," Answered the trader simply.

"ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS, MAN?! ONE OF THESE IN A SHITTY NICK COULD CRIPPLE A FUCKING MUTANT OVERLOAD! AND THIS LOOKS BRAND NEW! ARE YOU INSANE?!" The once calm Preston now snapped, looking at Jack as though he suddenly became insane. As the merchant was about to reply, Preston instantly fished into his large pocket and plopped a heavy bag of caps in Yang's hand. "I knew Jack was hard on his deals, but even that's a new low for him, here are two thousand caps. I need it for a job anyway."

"Oh, and what's this job?" Yang asked innocently, while secretly hoping to get some action on a mission with Preston.

"Well, I thought you were traders, not mercenaries," asked a fairly confused Preston.

"Think of us as a jack-of-all-trades," Yang replied.

"Well, in that case, I may have a job for you…"

(Notes: This is a short sequel to "In the Dust of the Old World". Don't expect it to be too long, but after this one, I do have a much longer story in line for you guys. Hope you guys are well. Enjoy your holidays and ADIOS!)


	2. Chapter 2

The group followed Preston to a large bar across the street from the string of trading stands, where a sniper stood guard above the entrance and nodded his head to the newcomers silently. The outside of the bar looked like a large simple metal shack. The interior of the bar itself was cosy. Though the evening sun was still warm outside, the inside of the bar was pleasantly cool. Most of the hard wood floor was covered by a thick layer of different coloured rugs. A large bar was set up to the left of the entrance, with a large jukebox playing pre-war music. It was already packed, with the majority of the booths taken up by chatting customers, and even a few happy drunks dancing around the floor. Everyone greeted the group with varying levels of sobriety before they finally found a free seat in the corner of the room. Just as they sat down, a ghoul clad in simple clothes came over, giving everyone a friendly smile.

"What can I get everyone today?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"Hello, Deidre! I'll take a purified water please," answered Preston, before turning to the girls expectantly. "What about you ladies? I'll be paying, so don't worry,"

"I will take an atomic cocktail please," Yang answered politely.

"Whiskey for me, neat," Blake said simply, though with a small smile.

"I'll have a whiskey as well," Weiss ordered.

"Um…Nuka Cola and Vodka, please?" Ruby asked sheepishly, to which Yang broke out into laughter.

"Vodka?! HAHAHA! Who are you and what have you done with my adorable little sister?" Yang chortled, playfully ruffling Ruby's hair, causing her to blush out of embarrassment.

"Well…you guys are drinking alcohol…I thought I'd at least try it…"

"Don't worry about it, kiddo, my sister was exactly like that when I had my first drink." Deidre winked at the small redhead before making her way back to the bar, "I'll be back in a second!"

"Thank you!" All five customers retorted with varying volumes before turning back to the topic at hand.

"So what's this job offer you got, Preston?" Yang asked, her usually friendly demeanour dropped as soon as she mentioned business.

"Well, there is a settlement down to the south-west called The Fort. It's the centre of operations for the minutemen. We try to improve life for everyone in the commonwealth. Problem is, they've been under siege for a fortnight now. Nobody has been able to get in or out,"

"Raiders?" Blake asked.

"That's what you'd think, but whoever has got our guys seems to have plenty of resources. More than any raider party."

"Mercenaries?" Weiss asked, getting more and more invested in the conversation.

"They certainly got the firepower for it. The Fort is one of the most well protected settlements in the commonwealth. A group of Super Mutants would be gunned down before they ever reached the gates, but whoever is attacking them, they are holding their own without breaking a sweat." Preston stopped as Deidre leaned over the table to hand of the party their drinks, who all thanked the ghoul silently.

"That'll be fifty caps please, Preston," Deidre told the man, standing up straight patiently waiting as he nodded and rummaged about in his pockets for the money. Pulling out a small bag, he placed it gently in her hand. "There should be seventy five in there, feel free to check if you want,"

"Nah, you're quite alright, sweetheart. I trust you. Besides, I know where you live." She said the final few words with a mock threatening tone, before they both chuckled. Placing the bag of caps in her own pocket, she began to walk back towards the bar, calling once over her shoulder. "Give me a shout if you need anything else!"

"Will do!" Preston shouted back with a smile, before turning back to the girls. "So, anyway, the job is to try and push past the attackers by any means necessary, supply the defences, and push back the attackers. My superior would be the one to do this, but he's needed elsewhere in the commonwealth"

"You make it sound so easy," Yang half joked, before taking a drink and wincing slightly. "Let's just on walk on to this Fort! No problem at all! Not like there's bad men with big guns or anything!" She yelled out sarcastically. "Oh wait…hmmm…" Yang leaned on her elbow and stroked her chin, as though in deep thought.

"Pushing through will be the hard part. They have the land completely surrounded and forget trying to get supplies in by the sea." Preston said, ignoring Yang's snarky remark.

"Is there anyway we could get in by the air?" Ruby asked softly, sipping softly on her drink.

"I suppose that is an approach that we haven't tried, but how? We don't have any vertibirds and its not like we can jetpack our way in," However, as soon as Preston said this, a small idea sparked in the back of Ruby's mind.

"You know those power armour suits you got outside?"

"Yeah, they're my superiors-"

"Have you got any scrap metal? Would he mind if I altered them? I have an idea," Ruby leaned over the table, suddenly very excited. Preston shrugged.

"If it helps-"

Ruby leapt over the back of her chair and raced outside. Soon after, the sounds of building, welding and whirring came loudly from outside. Curious, Preston and the other girls were about to leave the bar and lean out to see what Ruby was doing, amazingly, she was just finishing the final touches on a final piece of power armour.

On the back of five T-45d armoured frames were jetpacks.

Large jetpacks.

"Impressive, miss! The man has been trying to build jetpacks ever since he first got his hand on one of those bad boys!" Nodding his head.

"But that's not all!" Ruby announced, holding her hand out with her index finger raised in a "as-a-matter-of-fact" manner. "I took the original schematics and improved on them. The fuel tanks have an increased capacity, the jet system burns fuel at amore efficient rate, and I've altered the system for more controlled fight,"

"…All that in like, what, five minutes?" Weiss asked Ruby, who was still admiring her handiwork the same way a child would admire a drawing.

"Don't doubt Ruby's ability with a wrench," Said Blake, though going by her expression, it would've appeared that she too was rather surprised.

"Well, come on, don't just stand around there! Give it a spin!" Yang shouted out happily. As soon as she got this confirmation from her sister, Ruby leapt quickly into the opening frame and closed it back over quickly. Quickly, she checked out all the equipment to make sure everything was functional before testing. She didn't want to die in a fiery explosion because of a simple fault. Actually, that would be a pretty cool death, she thought to herself. Brushing the thought aside, she decided that now was the best time to take off.

When she activated the jetpack, she didn't realize how powerful the force was going to be. The full force of the engines and the countering gravity were a hell of a challenge to take, not to mention the slight rising heat in the heel of the armour's feet. It wasn't an unpleasant heat, but it was a point of concern for Ruby. Finally, the fuel in the large tanks ran out after a few seconds. Then the earth came rushing back down. Whereas most sane people would be terrified of the feeling of the ground zooming towards them, Ruby was laughing like a child. Finally, the heavy metal bashed into the tarmac, the shocks in the legs absorbing the full impact. Giddy from the adrenaline rush, Ruby slowly climbed out of the frame, and looked towards the surprised faces of her friends and Preston. Beaming with pride, she looked at the power armour, then back at the group.

"So… think it'll do the trick?" Ruby asked.

"I think so, how is it for distance though?" Preston retorted, intrigued by Ruby's idea.

Ruby shrugged and climbed back into a different frame. She noted that the tanks would needed to be refilled before they left. Again, she tested the armour, and activated the jetpack when she was satisfied that it was safe. This time, she leaned all her weight forward as soon as she felt her feet leave the ground. This catapulted her straight into the wooden shell of an old world building. Luckily, the power armour took the brunt of it, but it still shook her. Getting up and groaning, she felt wooden planks and dust slide off the power armour, and then she looked out to see Preston, Blake, Yang and Weiss sprinting down the road. Walking out, she had to steady herself as she stumbled out of the rubble.

"RUBY! RUBY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" She heard Weiss screaming.

"IF MY SISTER IS HURT, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!" Yang shouted at Preston.

"I'M ALRIGHT! Just a bit shaken up," Ruby protested, dusting her power armour off just as the group pulled up next to her. Ruby climbed out of the frame, but stumbled when she stepped on a loose beam. It was only because of Blake and Weiss catching her that she didn't fall on her bum. Looking up at Preston, she smiled softly and rubbed her head shyly, still dizzy from the impact.

"Happy now?" She moaned.

"Very," Preston smiled. "We'll move out tomorrow,"  
 **  
oo0oo**

While most logical people would take the night before a task as a reason to rest, Weiss was instead watching a drunken Blake and Yang dancing in the bar. She preferred to have spent some time with Ruby, but the small redhead decided to make some final adjustments to the sets of power armour.

 _"You should have some fun with the guys,"_ she had said to her. Well, I'm not having fun now, Weiss thought to herself. Draining the last remaining liquid, she put her glass gently down on the table, made her way to the bar, and promptly but politely ordered a bottle of purified water. She quickly made her out to the workshop, ignoring Yang's drunken cries to come and dance with her and Blake.

It was dark outside the bar. Night had fallen and the nearest source of light came from the workshop, where Ruby was working tirelessly. She was crouched by the leg of one of the T-45 frames, tightening a knob in the knee joint. Weiss walked up to her, making her steps noticeably heavy so as not to scare Ruby. Ruby only turned around when Weiss was right next to her, but smiled when she saw her.

"I thought you were in the bar with Yang and Blake?"

"And I thought you might be thirsty," Weiss said with a soft smile, handing her the cool bottle of water, which Ruby accepted gratefully.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, before draining the bottle quickly. Though the night air was pleasantly cool, the blaring lights of the workshops and the hours of manual labour left Ruby in a hot, sticky sweat. The cold water was a welcome relief. Gasping for oxygen, she screwed the cap back onto the bottle and placed it delicately at her feet. "I definitely needed that,"

Weiss nodded, and soon turned her focus back to the towering hunks of power armour.

"So, what did you do to them?"

This question sent a new found surge of energy through Ruby, whose eyes, once dull with exhaustation, now gleamed with enthusiasm. She hoped back to her feet and started pointing at different parts on one with the frames.

"Well, I adjusted the shock absorbers in the legs for a more comfy landing. I adjusted the jetpack for longer and more controlled flight. The helmets have an advanced detection system, so we can see the bad guys long before they ever notice. I also added a little bomb compartment in the chest. When we fly over those mercs, we can pull this lever to drop them a care package of explosive. I reinforced the metal to take the full brunt of a mini nuke explosion just in case a stray bullet catches a payload as we drop it-"

"WAIT! Waitwaitwait…" Weiss said, grinding Ruby's words to a halt. "YOU'RE STRAPPING EXPLOSIVES TO OUR CHESTS!? DO YOU WANT TO GET US KILLED!"

"NO! Don't worry, the power armour can take the punch. Watch!" Without a second to spare, Ruby opened a single chest compartment, grabbed her beloved weapon and flipped it into its gun mode, blasting straight at a mini nuke sitting in the centre of the power armour. It exploded in a grand inferno, but despite some small radiation readings off of their Geiger counters, Weiss and Ruby surprisingly remained unharmed, as did the power armour frame. Preston Garvey, who was patrolling the small settlement as he usually did, heard the explosion and came sprinting towards the workshop, but before he could say anything, Ruby waved her arms about wildly and shouted her apologies.

"Sorry! Sorry, we were just testing out…stuff!" Ruby shouted, carefully hiding the fact that they were setting off explosives within a civilian area. Grumbling, an annoyed Preston seemed to buy it and went back to patrolling. Weiss, even more annoyed than the town's guardian, turned round back to Ruby and was about to lecture her about her foolish decision to set off a miniaturized nuclear payload in the middle of a town, if Ruby hadn't spoken up first.

"In my defence, the explosion would have been totally safe. I calculated the trajectory of the explosion and calculated that no one would get hurt," she said sheepishly, though her quivering tone said otherwise. However, Weiss groaned and simply shrugged it off.

"OO! I also have something for you," Ruby rushed to a weapons bench where Myrtenaster sat. Handing the blade over to Weiss with a twinkle in her eye and a large smile on her face, she launched into another excited explanation.

"So I took a look at Myrtenaster and thought of a way I could improve the firing mechanism. Go on, squeeze a few round off,"

Rolling her eyes, Weiss aimed the weapon high at the sky and squeezed off three rounds but nearly dropped her beloved rapier in surprise. The first projectile gave off a lighting fast laser strike, the second one was a plasma round, and the final one was an ice blue energy blast. She turned back to Ruby and raised a single eyebrow. While she was impressed, she wanted an explanation.

"Bit rude to tinker with other people's possessions as if they were your own, don't you think?" Weiss asked, though secretly she was rather happy with the new modifications Ruby had already made to her intricate weapon. Ruby smiled and picked up another rapier, which had metal cylinders sitting in the chamber instead of the energy cells that were in the sword Weiss held.

"That is why I made a totally different version. The reason why the power armour took so long to fix up was because I was working on this. I took a bunch of scrap and reforged as best as I could. Do you know how hard it is to make a furnace out of only energy cells?" Ruby laughed, though Weiss stared down at the weapon she was holding in shock. The weapon looked almost completely identical to the one Ruby put on the workbench. The weight, the feel of it, it was remarkable how alike they were.

"Do you like it?" Ruby asked timidly. Weiss smiled, and closed the distance between them, placing a soft kiss on Ruby's forehead.

"It's perfect, thank you," Ruby nodded her head softly with a small, almost apologetic smile, blushing the lightest shade of pink, and rubbing the back of her head. Finally, she spoke up, handing Weiss back the original Myrtenaster .

"Well, I need to make final repairs and adjustments to the armour,"

"Would you care for a hand?" Weiss asked politely, though she didn't know the first thing about these hulks of machinery. Ruby smiled.

"I'd like that,"  
 _  
(Notes: GAHHHHHH! I cant believe it took me so long to update this story. I do apologize. I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than what im used to, and I think I did ok with this, then the file corrupted... just GAAAAAHHHH! TAKE WHAT I HAVE TO GIVE YOU! Tell me what you think! DO YOUR WORST! Ill try to post more regularly. Stay tuned, I've got big plans for this! Thanks again and ADIOS!)_


	3. Chapter 3

"That's the last of them!" Preston shouted out from behind his mask as the last of the mutant ambush party hit the floor with a grunt. Reloading his musket, he quickly double checked his surroundings before relaxing his stance, but never put his weapon away.

"Jesus fuck, how are you supposed to move around in these things?" Grumbled Yang to herself, pulling her arm back from the destroyed head of a super mutant. Though she had done it many a time before, the sickening squelch made her cringe behind her mask, and she strongly resisted the urge to gag. Though she never got used to killing, she secretly thanked whoever designed this helmet for excluding smells. But that was about the only positive observation she could make. "It can take a punch, but holy shit, this thing has got an ass on it!"

"You'd actually be surprised." replied Ruby, wiping the blade of Crescent Rose clean off a stray piece of cloth. "I adjusted the mechanics to suit manoeuvrability, and even adjusted the arms so you could fit on Ember Celica."

Yang shrugged it off, shaking off what little destroyed flesh still clung to the metal of her power fist as best as she could. Eww, she thought to herself, how the hell does a bit of brain get up a shotgun muzzle?! She flicked it away, making a look of disgust.

"Not to mention you are carrying enough supplies to provide a small army for a month alone," Blake pointed out, twirling her blade around elegantly before sheathing it, a small spray of red hitting the floor. Even with the bulky armour, her movements were still smooth and elegant, something which slightly annoyed Yang. "Of course it's going to be a little harder to use than usual,"

"Says you, mistress ninja, you are handling that hunk of steel like a second skin!" Yang growled, still trying to get used to moving around in the frame, with little success. The movements that she made in the power armour required a lot of effort, the technology resisting against her.

"Don't put down power armour so soon, Yang. It is a feat of engineering, one of the last glorious relics of a bygone age," Weiss started lecturing, pulling her rapier out from the ground, keeping a comment about Yang being an oaf. "Besides, imagine how much harder it would be to face off against a pack of super mutants without one,"

"I suppose...just wish they made it a little easier to control," Yang grumbled, an angry whirring of gears in her arm adding emphasis to her point. Weiss sighed, and strode over to her.

"Yang, you've been struggling with it since you stepped into it back at Sanctuary Hills. I admire your persistence, Yang, but you will tire long before that suit gives out." Weiss pointed out, a remark which only served to aid in Yang's further annoyance, so she decided to try a different approach. "Here, don't try to think of it as a piece of machinery, think of it as just a set of clothes. Relax and take it slowly,"

Sighing impatiently, Yang begrudgingly took her advice. However, Yang was never one for patience and baby steps, and when she tried to rush her movements, the frame provided a lot of resistance, making the mechanics of the suit whir angrily. Yang yelled out in frustration, though it didn't really take Weiss by surprise. If anything, Weiss almost was expecting it.

"For god's sa-" Weiss was about to bark out, but quickly held her tongue, fearing she was sounding too much like her father, a bitter and angry mentor. Gulping back, she took a soft breath and tried again. "Baby steps, Yang, baby steps," Weiss said. Her tone was soft but still with the firm undertone of command, though it was more intended as a suggestion this time. Swallowing back her irritation, Yang started off slowly, with her arms. When they provided resistance, she took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. This time, the armour moved fluidly, the gears making a soft sound, making the blonde smile in pride.

"Keep going," Weiss urged her taller companion further. Yang was a fast learner, and soon easily got the hang of it. She continued getting more used to controlling the power armour as the convoy pushed forward. Weiss followed close next to her the whole time.

"The power armour is just like any tool, Yang, treat it with respect, and it'll work just fine," Weiss said to her, slightly impressed at the blonde's quick progress.

"Come on, we aren't too far off now," Preston called out, waving towards the convoy who were starting to fall behind. The group ran up to catch up with him, Yang happily sprinting up to him.

 **oo0oo**

"We made it," Preston smiled to himself, as he stared at the huge fortress nearby. However, his relief was short lived and he dashed for cover, crouching down near the burned out wreckage of truck.

"What's wrong?" Ruby whispered, as the group slowly followed Preston suit behind, but as they neared, they noticed the problem quickly. Thanks to the modifications Ruby had been working on, the servos picked up the enemy before they even got close.

"The Castle is completely surrounded. A few squads, combat armour, small arms, miniguns. There's also sniper posted out in that building. No wonder we couldn't use the cannons," Preston observed, his final comment whispered to himself. He peaked around the corner and adjusted the viewfinder in his helmet, zooming in on top of the wall. "Looks like the power is deactivated too,"

"Ok, man," Yang started, "it's your call. What do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure, any ideas?" he asked, turning around to the rest of the group, smiling hopefully, though the look was lost behind his thick helmet. Before anyone else could speak up, Ruby spoke up in a tone of serious thought.

"I have a plan."

 **oo0oo**

Christ, this is boring, thought the snipe as he scanned the horizon for the upteenth time. Though his crow's nest was well defended, and he had enough resources to last him a nuclear winter, the one thing he had a shortage of was amusement. Boredom and silence were his only companions. Nope, nothing on the Castle battlements like yesterday, he thought again to himself, slowly swivelling his rifle. Squads are stationed around the wall, just like yesterday. God damn, how long do I have to-

He had little time to finish his thoughts, as Blake – who had ditched her power armour for stealth value and quietly stalked behind him – smacked the butt of Gambol Shroud hard into the back of his head, knocking him out with a dull thwack. Going limp, Blake drug his body into the far corner of the small room, lying prone by the large anti-material rifle. Quickly, she checked the rounds in the clip and settled back in. She leaned over and signalled to her allies, who were crouched in the husk of an old hut. Signalling back, Blake aimed at the nearest squad and fired.

"GOGOGO!" Ruby commanded. Her three comrades obeyed immediately and sprinted full force towards the Castle. While Blake's distraction would draw the fire away for only a few seconds, it would buy enough her group enough time to reach safety. Among the vast other modifications made by the small redhead, Ruby had also adjusted the hydraulics and servos in the machine to conserve stamina but increase movement speed. Soon, Ruby could feel the small pinging of small bullets prickling the back of her armour.

They had been spotted.

Though the damage to the suit was minimal, Ruby started a mental countdown of the Power suit's deteriorating condition, even as they neared the wall.

"Jump in three! Two! One! NOW!" Ruby shouted. Almost in synchronization, the four of them hit a command, causing the power suit to rocket upwards with amazing speed. Ruby let a small smile slip as she heard Yang's whoops of glee, and the small calculating mutters of Weiss, while Preston was unusually quiet. During the split second where they all hung in the air before, Ruby dared herself to looks over her shoulder to look at where Blake once was situated. Most of the mercenaries had fallen, but there was still a significant amount firing upon the crow's nest pointlessly. For if she had worked it out correctly, Blake would be back in her power armour suit, triggering a small care package of explosives she had left in her wake. It had worked out perfectly, as a black mass of metal followed close behind them when a sudden bright and violent explosion shook the surrounding landscape. Soon, the ground came rushing back to them as Blake activated her jet pack as she reached the edge of the wall. The four comrades landed perfectly, much to the surprised faces of a few settlers. Yang turned to the group and sighed.

"Well...that was a thing," She only just had to time to finish this as Blake in her power armour smacked the ground hard next to her. Preston jumped out of his suit and violently threw up the contents of his breakfast against the brick wall of the Castle.

"Now what?" Weiss asked, her helmet twisting between her party members for an answer.

"Take back the Fort?" Ruby stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"You make it sound so easy," Yang half laughed from behind her metal mask.

"Yeah," Preston groaned, wiping his mouth as he turned back towards the rest of the group. "Blake may have taken out a few of them but they are still a strong force,"

"Oh ye of little faith," Ruby sighed, with a mischievous grin, "You honestly think I wouldn't have a plan for this?"

 _(Notes: Yay! Update! And it only took a few weeks instead of a couple of months! Yay! I'm trying to be more regular with my writing, but with more hours at my job, dropping out of uni, jumping between homes, I just haven't had the time. I know, it's a poor excuse and I keep on apologizing but adulting is hard! WAAHHH! Anyway, if you like this story, feel free to follow and fave this story – or possibly follow me, I don't know – and IF YOU REALLY WANT to help, please check out my p-a-t-r-e-o-n – please do, help a poor, broke wanna-be writer out. Anyway, as always, hope you guys are doing awesome and adios!)_

 _/user?u=826785_


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby surveyed the surrounding area. Minutemen and civilians alike were running around the courtyard, doing various tasks. Weiss was helping a couple of them see to the wounded, while Yang and Blake were taking inventory. "Can we use those artillery guns?" Ruby pointed out to the four large cannons, each guarding a tower of the wall, motionless.

"Don't think, we haven't tried, kid," exclaimed a member of the minutemen who was helping out with medical side of things nearby. "Anyone that has tried to pop their head up over the wall gets quickly taken care of. We've already had a few casualties," Ruby looked down at the wounded man the minuteman was tending to. He didn't look much older than Ruby, but he had his fair share of scars. The wound in question looked like a gunshot straight through the meat of his shoulder. She prayed he would make a full recovery.

"What if we can draw the snipers away long enough to get some men on those guns? Maybe some snipers of our own?" She asked, forcing her gaze up the medic, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

"I mean…sure, but how we going to do that?" He finished seeing to his comrade's wound and finally turned to where Ruby and Preston were, wiping his hands clean with a bloody rag.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of that," Ruby smiled, straightening herself up. "Just have your men ready to run on my command," The minuteman frowned, and turned his head to Preston, who nodded his head once. Though he clearly still had his doubts, he called out to two men and jogged towards the armory. Ruby strode across the courtyard to where Yang and Blake were cleaning their weapons.

"Seriously though, what's your plan?" Preston asked, looking down at the redhead inquisitively.

"Cause a distraction," Ruby smiled mischievously. Preston followed her train of thought, and stopped her.

"Ruby, forget it. Anyone who steps out of those gates will get turned into minced meat." He placed one hand on her shoulder, stopping her, almost pleading. Ruby looked up at him, still smiling, but more cheerful than sly now.

"Don't worry, it's going to work out, trust me," She pushed Preston's hand off her shoulder, and then strode up towards Blake, who was cleaning the barrel of a silenced assault rifle. Preston's words played on her nerves, but she had faith in herself and her friend. She wouldn't ask Blake if she knew she couldn't do it.

"Blake, mind if I ask you something?"

 **Oo0oo**

It had been an easy enough task for Blake to sneak out the Castle, and avoid the ever watching eyes of snipers and the other vigilant mercenaries. Avoiding being seen was a talent she had perfected her whole life.

However, it was a little trickier when she was carrying enough explosives to blast a Super Mutant Behemoth to the moon.

All this would prove to be a walk in the park compared to the next part of Ruby's plan.

"For fuck sake," Blake heard one of the nearby soldier's cursing, as she deposited C4 and grenades gently on the ground behind a wall, doing it ever so quietly. She quickly peeked her head round to see a sniper and his spotter casually chatting away. They were looking out towards the Castle, in Blake's opposite direction. She dared to creep a little closer, pulling a large combat knife out of her belt.

"What's the matter?" She heard his spotter reply, tilting his head slightly to the side. If the spotter caught her in the periphery of his vision, he could blow this whole plan. Blake lunged forward, slicing both of their throats in a single fluid motion. They fell to the ground, grasping at their throats, writhing for a few seconds, then twitched a couple of times, before finally laying still. Blake ignored the corpses and took the large rifle in her arms, quickly scanning the area below through the scape. Thankfully, the commotion didn't grab any attention from the patrolling soldiers below. Taking a deep breath, she took aim at one of the mercs, and fired.

Then all hell broke loose.

 **Oo0oo**

"THAT'S THE SIGNAL! LET'S GO!" Ruby led a small squad and onto the wall of the castle. Four of the men had heavy combat armor - the best they could do since they couldn't use power armor on the cannons - while she, Weiss, and Yang wore power armor and carried heavy weapons. At first, she expected to have at least some sort of fire coming up towards them, but it seemed her gamble paid off, the mercenaries were way too preoccupied with Blake to look out to the Castle. The four men split off to each of the cannons, while Ruby, Weiss and Yang took up their positions, crouching on the edge of the wall.

"THIS IS GONNA BE CLOSE!" Ruby shouted out, popping the top of a flare and throwing it as hard as she could, satisfied when hers landed by the edge of mercenary's foot. His attention was quickly drawn to her, and he was about to fire at her, but a bullet coming from the opposite direction made sure it was his last mistake.

"WE'VE ONLY GOT SO MANY ROUNDS! MAKE THEM COUNT!" Yang announced as she set off her flare, tossing it by a squad hidden by some cars, before letting her minigun tear apart anything she pointed it at. The mercs were torn apart before they could see the smoke from the flare.

"THAT'S THE LAST FLARE!" Weiss then took her rifle, precisely picking off a few soldiers. This was finally enough to get the rest of the merc's attention, as their spread of fire was now split between the wall and Blake's position. A few shots tried to hit the gunners, but the cannons acted as shield from the attackers, only scraping the metal of the giant cylinders. "YOU SURE BLAKE WILL HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET OUT?" Weiss shouted over the thundering sound of gunfire.

"SHE'LL BE FINE! JUST FOCUS ON KNOCKING OUT THESE FUCKERS!" Yang commanded, as a bullet scraped by her helmet. Enraged, she pointed her fire towards a large group behind deteriorating cover. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME? THERE'S PLENTY TO GO AROUND!"

"AS SOON AS THE CANNONFIRE WIPES OUT THE MAJORITY, THE MINUTEMEN CAN MOP UP THE REST OF THEM!" Ruby said finally, as the first of the cannons fired.

 **Oo0oo**

Blake sprinted out of the building as soon as she saw the first trail of red smoke, not stopping for anything. Her sniping point had been well covered enough to defend her from the mercenary's gunfire, but it would do little when hellfire came raining down. Additionally, the stockpile of explosives she stashed would be enough to take out the building and the remaining sniper's nests.

And her if she wasn't fast enough.

She cleared the building just as she heard one of the cannons go off.

Shit, she thought to herself. Panicking, she had only one option.

The back of the building was on the harbor.

Though it wasn't an option she fancied, she would have to leap into the water.

Fuck it. She threw her body into the water as the first cannonball exploded, causing a chain reaction and blowing up the building Blake was only seconds before. She felt a heat wave over her head before she splashed into the cold water. Kicking hard, she broke the surface again, and swam towards the Castle, not looking back once.

Way. Too. Close.

 **Oo0oo**

"That's the last time I listen to one of your requests." Hissed Blake to Ruby, still wringing out water from her long dark hair. Ruby chuckled nervously, avoiding eye contact with her friend.

"Well, at least you got the job done," Preston spoke up, wanting to avoid any tense confrontation. "You helped us take the area back, thank you," Preston made a round of handshakes; each of the girls's returning their welcomes in their own way. The cleanup didn't take long as most of the mercs were shredded pieces of meat, and any working piece of equipment was taken in by the minutemen.

"You sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" Preston asked, speaking to Yang.

"We appreciate the offer," Yang said, considering for a moment, before speaking up again. "But I think we've had enough of the Commonwealth. We'll be back soon,"

And with that, as quickly as their chance encounter was when they first met, so to was their parting, Preston returning into the boundaries of the Castle, the girl's caravan travelling the opposite direction.

However, while all five thought this was the conclusion of this adventure, they were quite unaware of prying eyes watching them from a distance, as a single man with a freshly lit cigar watched them through binoculars and a small smirk on his face. Not bad ladies, not bad at all, he thought to himself.

Granted, Cinder would be furious at losing some of their forces and a potential new base of operations.

But she would be intrigued as to who was the cause of it.

 **(Notes: And thus we reach the conclusion of this story finally! Honestly, I had this typed up months ago, but then my laptop finally died on me…oh well, enough excuses. I also tried to make this conclusion action packed, instead of focusing the characters. Stay tuned, this is not the last time we'll see the girls in this fallout crossover. I hope you guys enjoy, and I am so sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long. Thanks again and ADIOS!)**


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